


Desert Windstorm

by kerokei



Category: Naruto
Genre: After the War AU, Comedy/Drama/Fluff, Drinking, M/M, SasuNaru - Freeform, implied - Freeform, narugaa - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-06
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2018-11-28 12:32:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11418054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerokei/pseuds/kerokei
Summary: After the war, the allied nations Kage's have started holding a bi-yearly four day 'meeting' to solidify newly formed bonds between nations.Gaara hates it. It turns out his Kage collegues are all mentally younger than him and these 'meetings' become excuses for Kage debauchery and shenanigans.Although this time, a certain blond is attending. So perhaps, maybe, possibly, Gaara isn't so exhausted at the idea of going.Fluffy, angsty and tentatively funny Gaara-centric fic set a year after the end of Naruto Shippuden before the time-skip.





	1. July-A red-head given no respite

_Desert windstorm_

July

Chapter 1

A red-head given no respite.

 

Gaara looked upon the buildings of Suna and sighed in relief. It had been a long two years of sorting everything out after the 4th Shinobi war. For the first time since it ended, Gaara felt like he could breath again: most things were back in order, the funerals, memorials, political business and reconstructions that followed the war were finally mostly over. Of course, for many years to come talk of the war wouldn’t subside, it’s effects would resound through everyone’s hearts as thousands of lives and subsequent losses had left a lasting scar, and this would carry itself through generations to come as reforms in the system would be put in place, and memorials would go on to honour those who gave up their lives for the village.

Gaara was looking upon Sunagakure from a garden he’d set up above his Kazekage’s offices. It was the sole place he’d find solace from the stresses and aftershocks of the war. A well known insomniac, Gaara would spend most of his nights gardening until he fell asleep, the practice giving him a bit of respite from the lives lost at war and from his own hands back when he was a young teenager blinded by loneliness and the thirst to kill. The red head sat down on a wicker bench that had been gifted to him (or pushed upon him,-not that he minded) by his siblings that thought would be a useful addition to the garden at times when work would lend little rest to Gaara’s legs. ‘A really good addition’ he thought, indeed on the most stressful days when insomnia hit harder than usual, Gaara would often spend the night in the garden after hours of compulsive gardening, eventually being able to fall asleep for a couple of hours in the therapeutic company of many cacti and succulents and various other rare plants Gaara loves to collect.

‘Kazekage-sama!!!’ Gaara jolted upwards in surprise and slight confusion at the words, having not noticed his mind drifting off due to the unusual calmness he felt.  
‘Matsuri.’ Gaara answered, composing himself, ‘what can I do for you’  
The blushing girl took a few hesitant steps into the garden as she was intimidated by the private status it held, barely anyone came up there except for Gaara and an occasional sibling when he was needed. ‘Come on in,’ Gaara said encouragingly (although in his usual placid tone, Matsuri could notice the effort). She walked up towards her Kage and handed him a scroll:  
‘An eagle just flew in from Konohagakure brought this over for you Kazekage-sama’ she said with a slight bow.  
‘Please, call me Gaara, Matsuri… and thank you.’ Touched by his words, Matsuri stared in admiration and content at her Kage’s face until he reminded her that she could go now. She blushed and left the garden at a quickened pace in embarrassment.

Gaara sat back down and as he unravelled the scroll, he thought about how it’d being a long time since he’d heard from anyone in Konoha, around six months since he’d seen any of his leaf friends in person, and a small smile appeared on his lips. This smile quickly faded and was replaced by a scowl.

‘FUCK’ Gaara whispered to himself violently.  
‘This shit again aaah’ he thought.  
The message was asking for Gaara’s availability for the soon to come biannual Kage excursion. It was one of the recent formalities created after the war to maintain the newly found peace treaty between the villages. Gaara had appreciated them at first, everyone joyfully celebrating the end of the war and discussing forward-thinking policies, sharing ideas and strengthening the relationships between villages, but the event quickly became an excuse for the Kages to get drunk for three nights straight whilst their underlings did all the work back home. Just the perfect occasion for them to argue about policy and say what they really thought of the other and it all being forgotten the next day.

Gaara wasn’t a big fan of the drinking—he enjoyed it around his siblings, but when it came to people he wished to remain serious around, it became a problem—mostly because Gaara couldn’t retain his composure under heavy influence. At the event six-months ago, Tsunade had encouraged him to drink whilst discussing serious matters. Gaara was very involved in the conversation and didn’t notice Tsunade repeatedly filling his cup up with sake and he eventually got so wasted that he tried to make out with a statue, much to everyone’s amusement.

‘She can’t play her tricks on me again’ Gaara thought, ‘Kakashi is Hokage now.’ But this thought didn’t appease him, as everyone would still mess around without the gambler’s presence.

Gaara scanned through the scroll to the part that stated who would be coming to the excursion. Apart from the Kage’s, there was a list of bodyguards and house staff every Kage had to agree to. He read through the names quickly, considering not much of it had changed from the last time, except for the new Hokage. Temari and Kankuro would accompany him as usual and the place was the same as well as the staff. Gaara was the kind of person to take formalities in quickly in an uninterested manner, but suddenly a name caught his eye ‘Naruto….’ He noticed, ‘He’ll be Kakashi’s bodyguard huh.’ And at once the trip didn’t seem like that much of a drag anymore, and Gaara signed his approval.


	2. Mind the gap to Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi again~ sorry this took so long, my keypad wasn't letting me access my account even though the chapter was finished. Now it's half fixed but I can at least type my password in. Enjoy 8>

Chapter 2

Mind the gap to heaven

 

Three weeks later, the time had come for the young Kazekage and his siblings to head out to the Kage event. The three were in their usual ninja garments for the journey, so they could easily fight if harm came their way on the road. They would travel on a giant red-tailed hawk to a remote Island that was part of the fire country, and were to arrive for the evening feast before the sun set.  
“Hurry up you two!” Temari shouted out to her siblings, already standing on the hawk with her arms crossed.  
“Yare, yare she never shuts up tsk” Kankuro said under his breath as he, with Gaara’s help, lugged his enormous bag towards the bird.  
“I HEARD THAT!” the blonde shouted back.  
“Do you really need all of this stuff anyway?” Gaara asked, “It is the summer you know, and it feels like you’ve got ten coats in there”  
“Puppet stuff” the brother answered, “So I can do something actually interesting whilst I’m stuck with you two” he said with a snarky grin. He was suddenly whacked by a hand shaped mass of sand to the back of his head, and Gaara let go of the bag.  
“Suit yourself” the red-head voiced as he walked off and jumped on the bird. Kankuro scowled as he dragged his heavy bag towards his female sibling who was laughing loudly at the sight of his demise and the other sibling was sat down cross legged and looking into the distance.

Once the puppeteer had achieved his feat, Gaara whispered ‘fly’ and the bird gave an impressive bat of its wings, lifting everyone’s hair and clothes up as the siblings held on tight, whilst being sent up into the wind.  
During their flight, Gaara shut his eyes and attempted to meditate all the while enjoying the feeling of the warm wind against his cheeks. However the Kage couldn’t concentrate, despite his siblings not bickering as per usual, Gaara’s mind was not at ease. He attempted to connect with the feeling that caused his lack of focus, but to no avail.  
He felt a presence sitting down next to him,  
“You must be excited to see your good friend Naruto again” Temari told him in a soft voice as she admired the scenery of her country from above. “Hn.” Gaara barely answered, “So you saw”,  
“Of, course, I’ve got to look out for my little brother! Too bad it isn’t Shikamaru though, even he should be better than that knucklehead!! But I guess it’s nicer for you.”  
“…I suppose so.” he replied.  
Now that Gaara had found the link to his feelings, he managed to find inner peace as he descended into meditation.

Two hours later, green land appeared within the vast seascape. The Island was small but large enough for the inhabitants to live comfortably within a traditional village far enough from many vacation spots along the shore, situated about an hour away from the little town. The beaches on the shore would go on for gigantic stretches, a very beautiful panorama.  
“We’re very close” Kankuro mentioned. Temari suddenly seemed very giddy, and her impatience to get down to earth was made obvious by the way she leaned towards the scenery .  
‘  
“I can’t wait to put on my bikini and enjoy this place to its fullest!” she said as she stood up to get a better view.  
“Gaara doesn’t seem too excited” Kankuro said, looking as his brother’s uninterested expression towards the beautiful sight in front of him. Gaara remained silent and composed, but Kankuro was wrong. The thought of seeing his best friend again made Gaara very happy, but he was also scared about spending that long with Naruto. He’d grown extremely attached to the knucklehead ninja over the years and knew that when he would have to go back to Suna he would find it extremely hard to let go, just like the loss he’d felt years ago when he’d had to leave Konoha after Naruto twisted his fate. So Gaara silently concocted a plan to avoid this from happening again. He thought it would be best for him to remain serious and keep his Kazekage composure during this escapade. This was also a way for the red-head to avoid getting hurt if Naruto wasn’t as happy to see him. But Gaara wasn’t in full awareness of this emotion underlying his plan.  
‘Land’ The Kazekage whispered to the hawk as they were nearing the shore.

 

By the time they got off the hawk and onto the beautiful sandscape, it was nearing 6 in the afternoon. The sun was still up but on its way towards the horizon by now, but the temperature was still very warm.  
“It’s so humid here” complained Kankuro as they walked up the beach towards the gates of a palm tree spangled residence that stood right where the sand stopped and green began. “My face paint’s gonna run soon” the puppeteer grumbled. The sand on this beach was a beautiful light beige, very different from the sand in Suna, it was also a bit thicker and heavier, and Gaara enjoyed the change. There was no one but them on this long stretch of coast, until the bronze gates of the residence opened and three men and a woman came out to greet the Suna trio.  
“Lord Kazekage-sama, welcome” the older woman said as she approached and gave a slight bow. “Kankuro, Temari” she added with another bow for the two.  
“Nice to see you again Lady Hizaki”, said Gaara politely, “and thank you for having us use your residence again’”  
“It is an honour to have you as always,” the woman replied, “and please, give your luggage over to them” she said, signalling the men that accompanied her. They were all dressed in white which was the colour the staff at the residence wore. Lady Hizaki had long purple hair with blunt bangs that stood out in contrast to the pristine white of her long dress that trailed behind her and made Kankuro think that it looked like she was about to get married. The dress was simple and silky, with a collar reminiscent of an Arabian roof revealing a modest bit of cleavage, and held up with thin delicate straps. Gaara admired the sophistication. The three men that worked for her grabbed the trio’s bags and Gaara was relieved when the beefy one took care of Kankuro’s.

As they walked up to the house, Hizaki explained that everyone had already arrived except the Mizukage. And they’d gone to their rooms to get ready for the feast. As they went through the gates, they were faced with the gigantic residence they were to stay in. At the front, there was a beautiful unruly garden in full bloom, with many flowers and plants of different shapes and sizes scattered so randomly that it made it seem alike to eden. There were two gazebos on each side that were surrounded by tall plants and covered in climbing organisms for privacy. White metal tables and chairs sat underneath each gazebo and were adorned with unlit candles of many types. Wooden benches were also scattered around the area, with cobblestone footways leading to them amongst the dense greenery. Hizaki led the way through the garden on a path also made of cobblestone separating the garden in half, leading to the mansion. Gaara took in the environment and thought about how lavish these meetings were, considering the upkeep of this residence, but nevertheless, he adored the garden, and was ready to spend his peaceful time away from the drunk antics there.

They arrived to a gigantic mansion. It was made out of taupe brick and was covered in vines. The windows had wooden shutters painted in a mauve brown, a colour that Gaara enjoyed and that suited the residence’s owner. The courtyard was small-ish considering the size of the house, and two tables with parasols sat on either sides.  
“Let me show you to your rooms” Hizaki declared as she opened large mauve oak doors revealing the inside of the classical building. The entrance was grand and from the ceiling hung a giant chandelier with crystals in the shape of water droplets dangling down like a tornado.  
They were lead up a big staircase adorned with a plush carpet the colour of moss, and a heavily maroon banister. The walls were adorned with a stone grey wallpaper embellished with lighter patterns of long leaves that would marry each other at times and separate again. They got to the 3rd floor, and walked through a corridor on the left wing of the building. On each side, there were three sturdy maroon doors , and each had an oval copper plate on them with a room number. Temari was to take the first room on the right side of the corridor, Gaara the middle, and Kankuro the furthest. An arrangement made to ensure the Kazekage was protected from both sides if need be. Inside each room, a queen sized bed sat in the middle with silken purple sheets and four pillars surrounded the beds on which white mosquito proof mesh hung to be released during nighttime.  
Five lamps sunk from each ceiling, resembling individual raindrops, as if the entrance’s chandelier had cousins.  
Each room had an en-suite bathroom situated at the back, mostly white stone apart from the sink, bathtub that doubled up as a shower and toilet. These were all made of grey stone that had an expensive look. The luxury of this place made Kankuro quite uncomfortable. Just this mansion probably cost more to build than half of Sunakagure’s barren houses made of stucco. Gaara however, paid no mind to it. His village hidden in the sand had a character of its own, and he was always one to enjoy simplicity, no unneeded clutter,-as long as plants were around. Anything else seemed superfluous.

Each sibling kept to their own room with enough time to relax and prepare themselves for the evening meal, which was traditionally the first time everyone would get-together, ensuring that everyone had already arrived before discussions took place. Gaara sat on his bed and considered how damn comfortable it was.  
‘Too bad I won’t be in here much’ he thought, as during his moments of insomnia he struggled to see a point in staying put in his bed for hours, which would only serve to bore him and make his body cramp up.  
It was late-afternoon and he thought of having a nap as he hadn’t slept for around 40 hours, his sanity dependent only on his meditations. He decided to take a bath to try and induce sleep. Gaara went to the bathroom and locked the door behind him, he plugged the tub and started running water, moving his hand back and forth in the shallow start until he was satisfied by the temperature. He slipped out of his usual garments and caught a glimpse of himself in the tall mirror that was set to the wall right next to the tub on the side of the taps.

Gaara hadn’t seen himself fully naked in a while, and even less without his sand armour, actually, it had been around 6 months. He usually didn’t take the time to inspect himself, but now that he was excused from his duties, he found himself stark naked, face-to-face with a self he could barely recognise.  
His bare skin was dry and flaky in some places, and uneven reddish tones spread all over his body, and although his home was in the desert, the sand armour that he kept attached to his skin until now, had left his skin pale and depraved. His cheeks were sunken, his eyes blistered red and grey down to his cheekbones from lack of sleep, so that even his eyeliner could no longer help to cover, and the crimson of his hair only served to make it look worse by reflecting the colour. Deflated muscles clung on to protruding bones, leaving his arms and legs looking frail and his ribcage exposed.  
‘How can this be a man that leads and protects a village?’ He thought. And, after realising his fixation had lasted a while, he quickened his pace to get into the bath.

When Gaara was clothed and ready, sand armour, eyeliner and all, he’d sat on the bed and escaped into a book about botany, knowing fully well that his encounter with his bare self would make trying to nap futile. At around 7, he heard a knock on the door. It was the one that directly lead to Temari’s room, not to the corridor, as all of their rooms where connected in case there was an urgency.

Gaara opened the door to come face to face with his sister.  
“You look nice” he said in a monotonous tone, one that she knew too well to understand that he’d truly meant it, although many would misinterpret as sarcasm.  
“Thanks bro, and so do you.”, she answered with a smile. She was wearing a tight purple dress that fell to her knees. It was adorned with white lilies and a white chiffon cloth that outlined the sides of her prominent cleavage and was tied at the end into a butterfly knot. She wore black open-toe heels and a silver necklace with the symbol of Saunagakure which each sibling had a copy of.  
Gaara himself looked less impressive. He was wearing an ochre robe with red linings and embroidered red patterns of wind all over. It was a traditional Land of the Wind dress, that had been made for him on one of his visits to other villages in the land. To him, it was only appropriate to represent his country, but of course he nevertheless had his signature raccoon eyeliner on. His shoes matched the robe, they were of ochre linen with red lining, and went up to his ankles.  
“It’s time for dinner” Temari stated.  
“I got that” sighed Gaara, not fully ready yet to face the chaos that would ensue.  
They picked Kankuro up, who was dressed in only black as usual, but this time his garment was cut to give him a clean fit, and made him look like a bell-boy in a five star hotel Gaara observed. He kept his humorous remark to himself as they descended to the terrace at the back of the house.

From the hall that lead to the terrace, the siblings could already hear the loud talking (bickering) and laughter (screaming) of the fellow guests. Gaara lowered his head in a scowl.  
“HERE THEY AARE” shouted A at the sight of the siblings, already on what looked like his third bottle of sake.  
“AAH THE YOUNG KAZEKAGE IS HERE! WHAT IS HE GOING TO LECTURE TO US OLD GEEZERS ABOUT TODAY!” exclaimed the Tsuchikage, sarcastically.  
‘His nose is even redder than when he’s sober’ Temari pointed out to herself. ‘Didn’t think that was possible!’  
Gaara held his composure as well as possible (pretty easy for him to do-he would try and get his revenge at poker later) and gave a slight bow that he meant as a swift easy greeting to everyone. ‘There,’ he thought, ‘now leave me alone.’  
“GAAAAAAAAAARA”  
‘Shit.’  
A blond bolt smashed into his chest at full speed and proceeded to hug him (choke him) hard.  
“Na…ru..*cough*.to” Gaara attempted, “hi..please”  
Naruto let go of his embrace (crushing) of Gaara and gave him a 100watt smile  
“Hey, dude, long time no see!”  
“Hi, Naruto. Yes, it has been long.”  
Gaara’s heart was racing and he put it down to the fact that he’d seen his life flashing before his eyes just then.  
“Cute reunion”, spouted Darui sarcastically, “now, we’ve come all the way from the land of lightning so can we finally fucking eat?”  
Naruto poked his tongue out at Darui, and Killer Bee gave out a booming laugh.  
“Please, everyone sit down! The feast is ready.” Hizaki announced, to everyone’s shock, since no one had seen her arrive.

Everyone sat around a huge table shaped like an elongated oval. Every Kage had their two bodyguards placed besides them, the usual seating arrangements, but one that wouldn’t survive for long.


	3. From dusk till dawn and silence damned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiiii! So here's a super long new chapter with a strange ending because it...just...kept..going.  
> So I haven't done much dialogue before so please critique if you can I NEED TIPS anyway here's the new chapter  
> sorry it took so long my laptop doesn't work but I've upgraded my phone and have WORD on it wew~

 

Chapter 3

 

From dawn till dusk and silence damned.

 

Gaara jolted upwards from his bed, gasping for air, as if staying asleep would've been life-threatening had he not woken up.  
He hadn't noticed he'd fallen asleep and found himself confused by his environment. When his eyes adjusted to the dim room, he took a look at the wooden clock above the door opposite his bed. The clock read 4:27. So, he'd slept for a couple of hours. Gaara had no desire to stay in the room any longer for some reason, he could tell that any attempt to slumber any further was futile from the way his eyes fought his will to shut them, like a vigilant cat's glare.

Gaara descended to the kitchen. It was empty as expected.  
He hesitated on what to do and decided to help himself to a cup of black coffee. The sun was halfway up, but not enough for the morning dew to have evaporated, and the air still held a gentle coolness in its light movements. This was Gaara's favourite time of day, especially in places where there is greenery around. He enjoyed the silence of humanity and could listen to the faint sounds of nature, those tremors of the earth too often disregarded. Noises made up of silences, he'd tell himself.

He'd sat himself down on a lone bench in the front forested garden and observed the birds chirp as he sipped from his cup. It was still piping hot but Gaara kept attempting gulps nevertheless. Noticing his thirst, he thought about how much he must’ve drunk the previous night, it was almost like upon waking up he’d forgotten about it all, and suddenly his dehydration had awakened his memories.

The siblings had sat down at the giant table and were directly offered sake by the staff. Kankuro instantly accepted and stated that his cup should never remain completely empty, leaving his siblings shaking their heads in disapproval. Gaara accepted the sake, thinking it’d be a good decoy to avoid being harrassed into drinking more. He’d drink it so slowly no one will force him to have another cup, he’d thought. Naruto was sitting diagonally to Gaara and was speaking cheerfully to Kakashi about something. ‘He already looks tipsy’ Gaara noticed. Throughout the dinner, Gaara courteously answered to anyone who spoke to him, but spoke little enough so that the conversation wouldn’t take off, and whoever he was talking to lost interest soon enough and would move on to someone else. By dessert, Temari was gossiping about Shikamaru to Sakura, Kankuro was drunk and convinced that Darui bleached his hair, to which Darui was taking great offence so he started criticizing Kankuro’s face paint. Naruto and the Mizukage were in an intense debate about Sasuke’s worth as a man and Kakashi was reading what Gaara guessed to be smut, from underneath the table. Bee and A where in an armwrestle, and the Tsuchikage was laughing at ‘the idiocy of youth’.  
‘Great. Everyone is finally too drunk and involved to notice me leaving’ Gaara thought. He drank the final sip of his first and only cup of sake and readied himself to get up.  
-Naruto, the only reason you’re getting so heated about Sasuke is because he’s your boyfriend. Gaara heard Kakashi say nonchalantly.  
-Hah, so that’s why you’re biased laughed the Mizukage, You can’t argue then.  
-What, no erm, we’re not really together. answered Naruto in an embarrassed yet defiant tone.  
-Oh please, we’ve all seen your midnight strolls to his flat and the occasional makeout session behind Ichiraku! Kakashi blurted finally looking up from under the table.  
Naruto didn’t respond and took a long glance at Sakura who was still giving a long low-down of all the Konoha drama to Temari. He then shot up from his chair and stomped towards the garden in a hurry. All the while, Gaara was stuck to the chair he’d planned on abandoning before overhearing the conversation.  
-Naruto, admit it! shouted the now plastered Mizukage.  
-We might’ve hit a nerve. Kakashi said to her, let’s leave him be for now.  
Gaara went back to his original plan to leave the table, except that instead of going to bed, he went to the kitchen and asked the staff if they had any beer.  
“Sure, how many?” a young white-clad staff member asked.  
“Four please.” He took off with beer and went down to the beach on his own.

Gaara had been walking for 15 minutes, an open beer in one hand and the rest of the pack in the other. The air had gotten cooler and stars started appearing in the sky. He saw a spot up the beach where a palm tree was bathing in a beautiful patch of moonlight, chose it as his get away sanctuary and sat leaning against the tree, facing the shimmering black sea.  
‘You’re disappointed aren’t you’ he told himself.  
‘You had expectations didn’t you?’ Gaara shook his head at his thoughts and chugged on the beer till it was finished, soon going onto the second.  
‘Might as well have some fun of my own’ he thought as he took a long sip.  
As he drank through the pack, Gaara thought about the war. How he’d met his father again and found out his mother truly loved him. How much his survival and happiness mattered most to her, the thought of which gave him a sinking feeling that she couldn’t live to witness her own son’s wellbeing now, but the relief that she didn’t have to witness his younger days.  
-Mum, he’s the one that saved me. Are you in this sand too? Gaara said stroking the sand beneath him.  
-If you are, I want you to meet him. Just how you protect me from others, he protected me from myself.  
Gaara felt a wave of warmth wrapping him up, and he laid down on the sand and looked at the stars. It was comfort he felt in that moment, as if a puppeteer that had contorted his body into tense positions for hours finally let go, leaving the boy to rediscover freedom.

 

-So you come here every year for the free booze and to drink alone?  
Gaara opened his eyes and looked up at the person who woke him up.  
-Naru…to  
The blond boy sat down and Gaara launched himself into a sitting position. He noticed his balance and perception were slightly off, then looked at Naruto.  
-Was wondering where you went, I understand why you’d come here, what a sky!  
-Did Temari send you?”  
-No! I came to find you because we haven’t had the chance to talk really… Naruto said with a uncharastically dim smile. Gaara noticed a strong smell of sake on Naruto’s breath, and saw how very glazed over his eyes were.  
-Ok let’s talk. How have you been Naruto?  
Naruto didn’t respond right away and his body froze for a second. Gaara could see a sadness in Naruto’s eyes, for a boy whose dreams where about to come true, he seemed pretty disgruntled. Then, as if that was only a fluke in the universes ways, he responded boomingly-  
-Not about me, about you!! All the attention is on me these days. With becoming Hokage soon and all, I’ve heard too much about myself for once.  
Although he was talking with a chuckle, Gaara couldn’t help but notice how little eye contact Naruto was giving. For not being a shy boy, he was definitely shying away from something other than Gaara. He took that as a sign for him to attempt to appease Naruto-also a chance for him to help the boy he owed so much to. However, Gaara’s ability to turn a conversation from serious to lighthearted, as such a serious person himself, was piss poor. So the tipsy boy grabbed the first thing he could see, sand, and threw it unto Naruto’s face.  
-GHAA WHAT THE F- He heard back, fear and embarrassment making a sudden stab at the boys heart at the realization of the awkwardness of his action.  
But soon enough the red head’s face was sunk in the sand in response, with a chuckling adult responsible, and between the two drunken men an innocent sand fight ensued.  
-You bastard if only we could you chakra you’d be dea-“ Gaara started before being straddled front-first into the ground and pushed further in. In retaliation he threw sand over his head into Naruto’s face accurately enough for a chance to spin his body around as the blond focused on getting it out of his mouth. The red head grabbed another fistful and sat up, but before he could deploy his follow up attack Naruto pinned him back down to the ground and, face to face, chests only a foot away from each other and no sand in hand to strike with, drunken Naruto’s next move somehow was to bring his lips to Gaara’s and render him immobile with a deep, confusing, kiss.

Gaara once more was tense. His instinct to run away activated but this time he had no motivation to entertain it. As if questioning the lack of response from Gaara, Naruto gave the kiss a slight bit more pressure. Gaara answered by breathing out, opening his mouth slightly and pushing back, taking it in. He let go of his mind and focused on feeling, eased in by the four beers he’d downed earlier. Naruto let go of Gaara’s arms and slowly reached behind his neck grabbing and stroking gently at the back of Gaara’s hairline. In response, Gaara put his arms around Naruto’s back and tugged tightly at his dark orange shirt. It was pure bliss for Gaara who’d gotten himself in a meditative state that he lost his inibitions and was now letting his tongue in to Naruto’s mouth, ever so slightly moaning at the feeling of the boy he adores. The blond was surprised at the other’s keenness to have him over him, and at the quality of the other’s skill in these matters, coming from such a reserved and stern character. Naruto was getting excited and impatient so he moved his hands from the red-heads neck and grabbed the sides of the boys torso to adjust his body over his, and stroke the shapes of his waist. Gaara took this as cue to get his hands underneath Naruto’s shirt and do the same. They were making out violently, their bodies getting hotter by the second as they forgot all about where they were, and who they were, and what it meant for them to be like this.

-Ahem- the sound did not reach their ears and they continued touching each other up and kissing roughly.  
-Kazekage-sama, Uzumaki-san? the voiced this time was heared.  
Naruto shot up off of Gaara in shock and stood up straight, while Gaara laid there looking up at the person who’d disturbed them.  
-Miss Hodaka, what do you want? he said rather casually to the Lady who was accommodating the trip.  
-Lady Hi-ahem-zaki, um, sorry, wha-what can we do for you? Naruto on the contrary wasn’t acting casual at all. He was a deep shade of red and stumbling on his words. The red head found this amusing.  
-Gaara, your siblings are looking for you, Uzumaki-san, sorry to disturb. I didn’t mean to startle you.  
-Ts’alright…  
-Hodaka, thanks for coming here yourself.  
-I know how frustrating your drunk siblings can be… and from how THIS looks like, I think I’ve done you an even bigger favor than I thought. Lady Hizaki said as she cheekly sized Naruto up.  
From the way the two were speaking so casually Naruto’s nerves calmed down but his curiosity rose. Hodaka Hizaki left before Naruto could say anything else and silence reigned between the two. That is for the fraction of time Naruto could bear an awkward silence for.  
-So… you two friends?  
-Yes, somewhat friendly.  
-I guess coming here a lot you stop being formal with the hostess huh? That’s nice, she’s nice.  
-Well, I’m formal with her in front of anybody else, so please don’t be informal with her Naruto. Do as everyone else does.  
-Wait… did you sleep together or something? Naruto playfully asked.  
-Yes, we used to have that kind of relationship.  
-WHAT?? The blond gushed out in shock at Gaara’s affirmation of what he intended to be joking.  
-Please don’t mention it to others it would seem unprofessional for her to sleep with guests.  
-BUT I THOUGHT YOU WERE GAY?  
-Why?  
-Uh because I’ve never seen you close to a woman.  
-Have you seen me be close to a man?  
Naruto shut up at the rhetorical question.  
-Well not until now hehe, I guess I shouldn’t make these kind of assumptions. Naruto finally said.  
For the first time Naruto saw a blush form on Gaara’s face.

The boys got up and started their walk back to the mansion. Gaara had sobered up a little and the events that just took place started to seem distant and unreal which unsettled him. Looking back at Naruto, it looked like he was better than just fine, like they hadn’t just nearly slept together, right there, on the beach after not seeing each other for months. No, Naruto was thinking of something completely different.  
-So, you and an older woman huh? I hope I didn’t ruin your chances for the future.  
-We had an arrangement with no strings attached but we ended it already.  
-Ah. I wonder if they’re any different, younger and older women?  
-Hn. I wouldn’t know.  
-So she was your only?  
-No, I’ve just never been with a women that wasn’t older. Gaara said in a matter of fact way.  
Naruto was dumbfounded for a second but smiled with some newfound respect for Gaara. ‘Damn…’ he thought ‘there’s a lot I don’t know about’  
Gaara was frustrated on his side.  
-What about you Naruto? Have you go…Gaara was interrupted by a sudden hard kiss on his cheek. He hadn’t noticed that they’d arrived at the gates and Kankuro had run to him to slobber at his face.  
‘Ack’ he thought, ‘gross.’  
-Lil’ bro’ I wuv you.  
-Love you, get off me please. He said as he practically kicked his really drunk brother off of him, and looked back at Naruto.

But Naruto was now gone, and once again, Gaara felt exhausted.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi this is my first fanfic and I hope you like it, I'm planning on updating frequently and would love some feedback! Even if it's just showing that you read it so that i'm motivated to keep going. See you next chapter :~>


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